Most people who consistently watch The Amazing Race will tell you that the show has lagged in the past few years. It’s gotten predictable, the challenges have gotten rather lame, and the show doesn’t have that same suspense and excitement it once did.
But I still watch. I still like The Amazing Race. It’s still a show I’d love to apply for if they ever decided to take Canadians (pretty pretty please?) and it still has potential to be a great show. I really like the cast this year, so I’m holding out hope that perhaps the producers know what needs to be improved and produced a classic season this year.
This season began with an exciting start, since teams had to rappel down a bridge to get their first clue. After that, they were off to Shanghai, China.
Who’s ready to get paddled?
The Roadblock required teams to play table tennis against a Chinese junior champion – who’d be using household items instead of a paddle to play. It was an interesting Roadblock, and one that I thought would prove to be pretty challenge for the teams. I mean, I’ve seen Forrest Gump. I know people take ping pong seriously. The best part was that one kid rotated around, so when someone messed up they had to wait until everyone else had had a turn for their next shot. On top of the difficulty of the task, it was HOT. People were sweating like whores in church.
The first person to pass was Abbie, of the ubiquitous dating divorcee team. After that the teams began getting the hang of it, so several teams were close behind them. The twins from New York/Sri Lanka really struggled, and they bickered the entire time. They won the prize for Most Annoying Team this week, but maybe they’ll grow on me.
I have a feeling that I am going to like “The Fabulous Beekman Boys” Josh and Brent, the goat farmers/life partners of reality TV ‘fame’. This exchange in particular really spoke to me:
“I won a sporting event! I’ve never won a sporting event. And it was against a champion!”
“A junior champion.”
Frog Fallopian Tubes
Ew ew ew ew ew. But awesome – I love gross challenges on The Amazing Race. I can’t believe that this is a delicacy somewhere in the world (who thought to put them in a papaya?), but it’s a hilarious challenge. I was impressed with how quickly people powered through it.
Monster Trucker Rob used his hands instead of chopsticks, so he didn’t get the clue. In order to get the clue, he’d have to eat two more! Yuck. I can’t believe he did it.
“I’m looking for a woman using an abacus. Why isn’t she using a calculator?”
The next challenge required people to find a woman using an abacus, which was a challenge for the lot who didn’t know what an abacus was. Really, people? Come on. Get it together. I’m looking at you, James and Abba – way to squander your lead.
The smartest people knew what an abacus was. The second smartest people Googled “abacus” so they knew what to look for. The worst people just wandered around.
My Amazing Race pet peeve came out to play already, though – teams helping each other. No! This is for a million bucks! Every team for themselves should be rule! All the time, but especially if you’re near the back of the pack. That’s just moronic.
Dispelling no preconceptions at all, the Chippendales had the hardest time locating the abacus. Maybe they should’ve taken a note – it could help them count all those dollar bills!
Can we take a moment to discuss the fabulous hat Phil was wearing at the pit stop? Loved it. If this season has more Phil Keoghan in hats, then I’m on board.
Here’s your results for the first week:
- Abbie and Ryan – as the winners of the first leg of the race, they have the opportunity to double their money and win TWO MILLION BUCKS if they can win the whole race. Awesome.
- Amy and Daniel – I kind of hated how Daniel was all “it’s just the kind of people we are”. Ugh. Play for yourselves.
- Caitlan and Brittany
- Natalie and Nadiya
- Rob and Kelley
- James and Abba (they were in first place after the eating challenge!)
- Josh and Brent
- Gary and Will
- Trey and Lexi
- Jaymes and James
By a hair, Rob and Sheila arrived in last place and were eliminated. It was great to have a photo finish for the first leg and for it to actually be an elimination leg.
Hey Jill!
Another season of TAR! Can’t wait to watch it again “with you” this season! I snorked a little from laughing too when Brent said “junior champion”. Hahaha.
Yeah, I was thinking there was going to be a detour somewhere in there, but I guess not. The degree of difficulty has definitely waned down a bit of challenges.
Thanks!
Wow. I think finishing last may be a problem for Shiela. If Rob was half the prick he seemed to be, airing it out may have saved her from marrying him. That whole “You didn’t choose me. I chose you!” thing really bothered me.
Did he say that? I must have missed it. How obnoxious.
A little bit of interesting trivia related to the whole ‘double your money if you come first on the first and last leg’. There is this thing that’s being referred to as ‘The Leg 3 Curse’. Basically, no team that has won the third leg then went on to win the entire Race. Ever. For example, last season Art&JJ won the third leg and finished second. Before that, it was Andy&Tommy and Zev&Justin. This also applies for all other international versions of TAR, except the Vietnam one. Just a little something to keep an eye out for during the Race…
As for the episode…. I mean, I love TAR. I’ve even managed to somewhat enjoy the last two seasons which were just… boring. I loved it. The twins have an awesome accent, I think Abbie&Ryan will annoy me and can’t believe the male strippers and everyone else that missed the abacus a million times.
Well in their defense, the thing was lying on her lap and mostly covered by her arms. If you were in too much of a hurry, it would be pretty easy to glance over it and not realize what it was.
Yes – if you miss it once or twice, I get it. But at some point you have to stop and take a more methodical approach.
Yeah, I was also surprised that so many people missed the abacus. I think it was because they didn’t know what they were looking for.